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Make your own Cemetery |
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 Make your own headstones:This is the foundation of your cemetery. The headstones sold at some stores are light and small. Making realistic looking tombstones for Halloween isn't difficult or expensive. The headstones sold at some stores are too light and small for some yards. However, you can spend a little time and make grave stones yourself using Styrofoam.Build your own. |
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 Bats:A rubber bat suspended from a string will seem to move in the air as people walk by it. Attach a string or fishing line to bats and hang from a tree. You wont believe the look on your quests startled faces. |
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Birds: |
Add an artificial blackbird, crow, raven or even a vulture to the top of your homemade gravestones where they can sit and watch your guests arrive. You can find them at most arts and crafts stores and at party stores around Halloween time. |  |
 Escape from the grave:A rubber arm from a party store was used. But, you can make your own with a glove and old shirt sleeve. Sew a glove to the sleeve of an old shirt. Fill the glove & sleeve with fiber fill. If you want it to stand up insert a stick in it. Stand the sleeve in the ground in front of a gravestone. |
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 Fence:A fence around your graveyard adds a nice touch. And you don't have to be a carpenter. In fact, the more rickety the the fence the better, you can use all old junk wood because it looks better than new. Offset the slats in your fence to make it look old. Paint with antique white and add a bit of gray and black. You could also use the plastic fence sections they sell at garden shops for flower beds. The fence comes in a black wrought iron look and white picket fence, both look great. |
Freshly dug grave:Placing some fresh soil in front of the grave stones gives the appearance of a freshly dug grave. Or use chicken wire and form it into a half cylinder shape, like a half of a tin can. Cover it with black plastic. Tape the plastic to the chicken wire with tape. Spread some dark wood mulch on top of the plastic. The mulch looks just like fresh soil. When Halloween is over, take the mulch and use it around some trees or shrubs. |
Ghoul:Give the appearance of a ghoul rising out of the ground. This was made by placing a rubber mask and hands left over from last halloween in the ground like this. Scatter some fresh soil around our friend. Placing stones in the mask and hands prevents them from blowing away. |
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Illuminating the gravestones:To illuminate the gravestones in your yard cut a rectangle out of the back of a real or fake pumpkin, put a light inside the pumpkin and place it in front of the tombstones. Use glow sticks instead of candles as they are much safer and last for hours. They create an eerie glow that lights up the stones. |
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Skeleton:If your graveyard lacks a formal cemetery greeter why not add a plastic skeleton to your home made graveyard where it can sit and greet your visitors and cheer them up. Available at most party stores. |
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Rubber Rat:Place a rubber mouse or rat on top of the gravestones you made for a frightening effect. |
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